Coming Soon
Due to be published by UK military history publisher Amberley in May 2023, my new book explores a little-known legacy left by soldiers in forgotten caves along the Western Front during the First World War: thousands of inscriptions and wall carvings that tell stories of courage, pride, hope and fear.
The Whispering Walls
The Whispering Walls takes the reader into the gloom of timewarp locations where the graffiti, in many cases as clear as if it had been written yesterday, rings out with the question: will I survive?
The book traces the fates of individual soldiers and presents some of the most striking inscriptions in over 100 photographs.
The inscriptions convey a powerful reminder of the cost of war.
In good bookshops from May 2023
My "Berlin trilogy" of novels
The Lost Places
Nabila Mansour was an activist and a medic in the Syrian uprising, lost her family and her home, survived torture, shelling and an almost fatal escape to Europe. Now in Berlin, she is trying to build a new life as a reporter for a failing local newspaper.
When a killer starts targeting far-right politicians, she scores scoops that bring her dangerously close to the merciless vigilante who shares her fascination with deserted buildings crumbling in forests around the German capital that remind Nabila of her devastated homeland.
Obstructed by envious colleagues but aided by the wardrobe-like photographer Peter, she is plunged into a new battle as treacherous as the one she fled.
Teutonia
Germany rules Europe in this age of Vorsprung durch Technik, but for Bruno Haxlreuter, a Wagner-loving weapons magnate, that’s not enough. The duel-scarred leader of the Teutonia fraternity is bent on snatching the fatherland’s eastern territories from Poland and has entered a Faustian pact with the Kremlin to make it happen.
“Haxi,” the toast of Germany’s unwitting elites, cloaks his iron in velvet and deploys a cabal of acolytes to pursue regime change in Berlin by plunging Europe into its worst financial crisis. The terrifying “Z-System,” the most lethal weapon in his arsenal, beckons for those who stand in his way.
Two reporters, Wolfgang Renner and Frank Carver, stumble upon the plot and plumb the Gothic depths of Haxi’s realm, battling hopeless odds as Teutonia hacks away at the rusting chains binding Germany to the West. Can they avert a Fourth Reich?
Praise for Teutonia:
“Page-turning thriller from an heir to Stieg Larsson: a hyperreal modern Germany rocked by a conspiracy to bring back the Deutschmark, carve up Poland with Russia and dig up Nazi-era loot.”
“The characters are well drawn, the action well paced and the plot is frighteningly plausible.”
“A thriller which plays with fears of German dominance and Russian expansionism. Violent action, strong characters, interesting historical background and a frightening array of weapons from the Bond villain baddie, Bruno Haxlreuter.”
The Jewish Candidate published April 2013
Keen to hang up his bulletproof vest once and for all, Frank Carver, a reporter for the London Chronicle, is posted to Germany to cover the country’s most fascinating election campaign since the Second World War. Rudolf Gutman, the first Jew to run for chancellor, is promising to free Germany from the shackles of its past.
But Gutman is in danger. Neo-Nazis secretly guided by Hermann von Tietjen, the brilliant, crazed leader of the popular Free National Party, plot to assassinate the candidate, using cash and contacts of old SS men to hire a killer.
Alerted by a tip-off, Carver and local freelancer Wolfgang Renner race to clinch the scoop of their lives, while Tietjen covers his tracks with a devilish gambit that plunges the nation into terror.
As the clock ticks down to election day and the noose tightens around Gutman’s neck, their quest turns into a lone, bloody struggle for survival that brings them face to face with modern Germany’s dark secret. Will they unmask the assassin in time?
"David Crossland's The Jewish Candidate is a thrilling political novel which exposes the dangers posed to German society by neo-Nazi extremists. A must read for those concerned about Europe's future and the future of democracy. As the European Union faces a resurgence of right-wing ultranationalism, Crossland paints a chilling scenario of the threats posed to contemporary German society by neo-Nazi extremists. A real page turner."
Efraim Zuroff, Chief Nazi Hunter, The Simon Wiesenthal Center
Media coverage of The Jewish Candidate
Praise for The Jewish Candidate
Neo-nazis, sex and violence and a plot - plus insights into the darker sides of journalism, Germany and life. I was gripped from the outset, and devoured it in one sitting.
A German political thriller? It sounds a bit like that other classic oxymoron - British intelligence. Yet in applying latter to create the former, Berlin-based journalist David Crossland has written a wickedly entertaining tale that has a serious point to make.
The swastikas on the cover are meant to be attention-grabbing (this is a first novel after all). But readers who do turn the page will discover an authentic and insightful portrayal of today's Germany and its people (the characters are convincing; the caricatures hilariously overdrawn). Far from being yet another Nazi scare pot boiler, The Jewish Candidate is a testament to Crossland's deep knowledge, and appreciation, of his adopted homeland. Five stars.
Terrific action thriller of the highest order. Fast paced, well written and filled with memorable characters and moments. If you like a really engaging fast read this one is for you. Looking forward to reading more like this one
Crossland's debut novel is a terrific read, an intelligent political thriller with shades of Frederick Forsyth but better observed with some nice touches of sophisticated characterisation. One of the most thought-provoking books I've read in a long time, Crossland clearly knows Germany and its political and social landscapes. Fast-paced, exciting, and with a timely warning for today's Europeans turning a comfortably blind eye to the threats of racism, neo-Nazis and political expediency. A real page-turner (it would make a terrific movie), you read it quickly but its adventure, intrigue, shady characters and disturbing questions will linger long after the final chapter. Highly recommended.